Challenges to the legality of Council Tax

We are responsible for billing and collecting Council Tax, which is payable by occupiers and property owners.

Council Tax is not a direct charge for individual services we provide to residents. This means we cannot adjust it to reflect the level or types of services you may use.

We pay about 12% of the Council Tax we collect into a central fund. This funds the provision of vital services to local residents, and benefits the whole community. We pass the rest on to Essex County Council, Essex Police and Essex Fire and Rescue.

Laws which require Council Tax payment

Your liability to pay is set by the following legislation:

This legislation covers the liability to pay, billing and recovery of Council Tax. 

There are many misleading articles, templates and forums on the internet regarding the legality of Council Tax. You should exercise caution and seek proper legal advice before using them as a defence against Council Tax liability based on contract, consent and common law.

Enquiries and challenges

We do our best to answer all relevant enquiries about Council Tax. However, we reserve the right to refuse to respond to enquiries that focus on hypothetical arguments that:

  • have no legal basis
  • ask for a personal opinion
  • ask for information that does not fall within the scope of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)

Such requests place a burden on our limited resources, at the expense of other taxpayers. Where appropriate, we will apply exemptions permitted under the FOIA, and will issue an appropriate refusal notice.

Common topics

We have put together some information to address common queries that come up around these matters.

We have seen an increase in the number of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests asking for information on this topic. Therefore, we would like to clarify our position.

The Freemen on the Land movement and similar groups commonly believe that people are only bound by the contracts and laws they have consented to. However, contract law and alleged rights under common law are not the same as legislation relating to the administration and collection of Council Tax.

You do not have a choice as to whether you are liable for Council Tax. Being a 'freeman' or declaring that you are ‘a natural, living person’ does not exempt anyone from paying Council Tax.

Your liability for Council Tax is not dependent on, and does not require, your consent or the existence of a contractual relationship with us. Any information that says otherwise is incorrect and there is no legal basis for this argument. If you withhold payment, we will take enforcement action against you.

In extreme cases, this could even lead to a prison sentence. In the Manchester Magistrates' Court vs McKenzie (2015) case, an individual who attempted to use similar 'Freeman on the Land' defences in court ended up in prison for 40 days.

If you have any concerns over the charging of Council Tax, you should seek independent legal advice. You should not rely on internet sources, hearsay or forum statements, as they may be incorrect or misleading.

The hierarchy of who is considered to be the liable party is contained in the Local Government Finance Act 1992 c14 Part 1, Chapter 1, Sections 6 to 9. 

Individual agreement to this is not necessary.

If you withhold payment of Council Tax, we will take recovery and enforcement actions against you.

We would recommend that you seek legal advice (at your own expense) before using arguments such as ‘Freeman of the Land’ as a defence against the payment of Council Tax.

Some residents consider that Council Tax is a contract and requires a legal contract and signatures indicating an agreement. Some have also asked us to provide the copy of contract where they agreed to pay for Council Tax. These residents have also stated that “an 'assumption agreement' does not stand up in court”.

Council Tax was created by statute, which means we do not need a contract. 

Therefore, any reference to the Companies Act, Contracts Act, Bills of Exchange Act or other Acts regarding companies or contracts is irrelevant.

You can find information on how Council Tax works on the GOV.UK website.

Council Tax is deemed outside the scope of VAT and we will therefore not provide a VAT invoice.

However, our VAT number is GB104186402.

Chelmsford City Council is a local authority within the public sector established under the Local Government Act 1972. This means we do not have a company number.

The fact that our details are recorded in reference sources, such as Dun and Bradstreet, is not evidence that Chelmsford City Council is a company. 

Whether a name is legal or fictional is irrelevant for the purposes of Council Tax.

Council Tax is charged and is payable by the liable person(s) (living or corporate), which is determined by reference to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.

The issue of a Council Tax Demand Notice (the bill) creates the debt.

We do not need a signature or agreement from you for Council Tax to be lawful. It is a tax, not a contract.

Some residents have asked us to specify which laws cover Council Tax, and have argued that legislation is not the same as law.

However, legislation is law, and you can find it on legislation.gov.uk.

Relevant legislation includes:

Some residents have asked whether Acts and Statutes are an obligation on them. They have also asked about the difference between a Statute and Law, and other similar questions regarding legal matters. In addition, they often state that they have not expressly or impliedly consented to the liability.

Acts of Parliament are Statutes which set out the law. If you have questions regarding other Acts of Parliament or laws, you should seek the professional legal advice. We do not provide legal advice.

Some residents have asked which law states that it is a criminal offence to not pay Council Tax.

That is covered byThe Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.

There is no statute which authorises (or prevents) us preparing a summons on the court’s behalf.

Under section 51 of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980, we can apply to the Magistrates’ Court for a summons. If the court grants it, the party applying normally drafts their own summons. In the case of Council Tax, that is us, as the local authority.  

We do not need a signature to bill for Council Tax and no ‘wet ink’ signature is mandatory on a court summons either. Previous case law has clarified that either a rubber stamp or an electronic signature is valid for a court signing a summons.

In order to process personal data, the UK GDPR requires us to identify a lawful basis for processing. There are six lawful bases and we can use any one of those as the basis for processing. This means that consent from the data subject is not always necessary.

Our lawful basis is described in Article 6 (1) (e). This is “processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller”. This means the processing must have a basis in law.

In this instance, the basis is covered by legislation including:

We do not base Council Tax decisions on automated decision making.

You can view information about: 

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